Wax-> Rails/Boxes/Logs

[Wildeman]

This goes out to all those flatland riders.... I was wondering what you wax your logs/rails/boxes with

I have heard of people using tons of different wax based products (i.e. skateboard rail wax/candle wax).... just looking for any ideas/tips.


Holla

[Jim Gordon]

We now don't use anything.......just water, because we feel that wax or oil attracts dirt and sand which then works like sandpaper. And you can guess what it's like to slide on sandpaper. Also only use gray pipe, not white and never black. We now use small pipe (under 1"), you don't twist your ankle as easy too.

[Jim Gordon]

Damn.......I didn't mean to kill this thread.........really!

[Wildeman]

You def did kill this thread. lol

[Kyle Lynch]

I would have to disagree with J-Gordon, wax can make a huge difference in terms of the slide of a rail. Paraffin wax works really well, tea light candles work not as well but are cheap and small. The key is to sand the tops of your old pipes if you find they are slow (this will make them slide well also). Make sure the rails are virtual clear of old wax and sand then throw paraffin wax on those rails and you will be flying. You can wax the bottom of your board which only lasts a few runs but will give you even more slide. I wouldn't bother doing any of this, on rails under 8 feet, but if you are taking on longer rails or want more speed to do tricks out of things, then this might be the answer. you can get paraffin at some grocery stores, or hardware stores it is used to make candles, jams that sort of deal. Tealight candles are easy to find: dollar store. With all this said, nothing replaces carrying speed on to the rail and bending your knees.

In terms of logs: I never wax them, look for smooth driftwood with not notchs, and if it is covered in seaweed all the better. The seaweed leaves a super grease residue, which is better then any wax. Riding logs is sketchy so be prepared to ruin your board, or take random chunks out of it because logs usually are less then smooth.

[Jim Gordon]

I would have to disagree with J-Gordon, wax can make a huge difference in terms of the slide of a rail. Paraffin wax works really well, tea light candles work not as well but are cheap and small. The key is to sand the tops of your old pipes if you find they are slow (this will make them slide well also). Make sure the rails are virtual clear of old wax and sand then throw paraffin wax on those rails and you will be flying. You can wax the bottom of your board which only lasts a few runs but will give you even more slide. I wouldn't bother doing any of this, on rails under 8 feet, but if you are taking on longer rails or want more speed to do tricks out of things, then this might be the answer. you can get paraffin at some grocery stores, or hardware stores it is used to make candles, jams that sort of deal. Tealight candles are easy to find: dollar store. With all this said, nothing replaces carrying speed on to the rail and bending your knees.

I didn't say it wouldn't work better, I meant it would only work for a short time better and then it seems to work worse. After the wax or oil get dirt in it. If you make sure everything is clean.....like the rail and the bottom of your board (put car wax on it helps) then your board should slide good without shit sticking to the bottom. If not run faster....... The thing I don't like about wax or oil is it's like a drug........once you start using it, you can't stop. Anyway that's my 2 cents about rails and wax. BTW that drug statement was just a figure of speech.

[Kyle Lynch]

I totally agree in terms of wax doesn't last forever. I do think there are lots of benfitts of using it on rails for example lets say that you put fresh pipe on a rail, then you have like ten guys sesh that rail for a couple hours, you will noticeably find the rail to be slower because what happens is that the tops of the rails get slowly squared off by grinding of the boards. By sanding and waxing you actually give your rail more life, and higher performance. I am not saying that waxing is the answer, I totally agree that some guys don't want to run and think wax is going to do all the work but I have skimmed every type of rail imaginable and I would never bother hitting a thirty foot rail with no wax because its no fun. Basically, what I getting at is the benefits of wax/sanding/wax/sanding technique is that you gain a lot of terms of rail performance and there for rider performance by putting in a little work before and during sessions.

[Jim Gordon]

Yeah Kyle, our rails are not that long.......only a total of 16 feet at the longest. And your right about the pipes getting sanded down flat on top,and sanding the rails sounds good, I will try that. I would say if you just made a rail, maybe first try the rail with nothing on it, and if you don't like the way it slides then wax it. See I didn't kill this thread after all.......

[Jim Gordon]

You def did kill this thread. lol

Damnit.......someone post, I'm not going to kill this thread again.

[amosb72]

yeah i like using wax
parafin is the best and it's cheap; you can get it at the grocery like lynch said

[Jim Gordon]

Kyle is right about the pipes getting squared off on top. And sanding it smooth sounds good. Here is another thing that might be slowing you down. After riding you board for a time, the bottom will get lots of scratches......some deep. When this happens, get some wet/dry sandpaper and sand it back smooth. If the bottom is in bad shape you may need to start with around # 150 grit and work your way up to at least 400 grit. If you have deep scratches you may want to fix them first. Use a sanding block and the wet/drt sandpaper, it also seems to cut better with water. When you get the bottom smooth again you can finish it off with a good car wax. I also do this for my foam skim that I use for waves, because I do a lot of sand take offs on very thin water. Having a smooth ,fast bottom will make you think your riding a new board.

[Kyle Lynch]

hey Jim does that work for HPL bottoms? If so we should feature that tip in tydle vol.3 if you are down.

[Jim Gordon]

Yeah I'm down with that......and it does work on HPL bottoms, but they don't get scratched up as bad as fiberglass bottoms. And HPL plastic is so hard that it's not as easy to get smooth. But the main thing is not to get out all the gouges, but to get the top of the gouges flat and smooth again. Does that make sense?

[Kyle Lynch]

yeah, makes cents. You would wear right throw the bottom trying to get some scratches out, hahaha.